Swell-box for pipe-organs



W. C. REED.

SWELL BOX FOR PIPE ORGANS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.23| 1916.

Pa'tentd Sept. 21,1929.

2 spans-su ar 1.

1w. 0. REED.

SWELL BOX FUR PIPE ORGANS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-23.1916.

Patentfid S ept. 23,

2 SHEEIS-SHEET 2.

movable inde iiendently of one cause era-res SWELL-BOX r012. iarrn-oncans.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WAL'rnRC. Benn, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Dalton, in the county of Berkshire and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Swell-Boxes for Pipe-Organs, of which the following is a specification.

In constructing swell boxes forpipe organs it has been the practice that they move simultaneously and to vary the swell effect by opening or closing the collective shutters to a greater or less e5:- tent. The present invention provides a swell boX construction which is radically different from that above'referred to in that the several shutters extend horizontally and are another, instead of being linked together, and each shutter is provided with its own operating mechanism, so that any shutter can be opened or closed without regard'to the p osi= tion of any other shutter and an increasing swell effect can be produced by opening the shutters successively. In this way it is possible not only to obtain fine gradations of swell eifect by comparatively'simple means but also to operate the several shutters by individual motors which are small and prac tically noiseless, thus avoiding the use of a motor which when crate all the shutters simultaneously is likely to be noisy and to take up considerable space. Other features of my invention relate tothe shutter-operating mechanism, and provide for thecontrcl of the shutters either automatically or by the organist,jor in both ways. In the accompanying drawing: Figure 1 shows in elevation the front of a swell box having its shutters constructed and arranged for operation in} accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a section'on the line cwin Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a sectionon the line g in Fig. 1; and v Fig. i is a partly diagrammatic view illustrating an arrangement for operating the shutters.

Referring first to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawing, 2 indicates a frame in which are pivotally mounted a number of shutters 3,

heretofore to connect the several shutters in such manner.

. with beveled edges in order to prevent powerful enough to op- I to the A through Serial No. 132.9

shown as extending the other with ,thei

and lower edges.

stitute the front of the remaining parts contains are 'not' 'i-l-lu essrenoa TO PHILLIP w. ASSACi-IUSETTS.

horizontally one above r supporting pivots 4 a swell box, of which and the pipes which-it stratedas they may be constructed and arranged in the usual or any suitable way.

The individual shutters 3 may also be constructed in the usual way,

arranged to permit all the shutters to open in the same direction and faced wit-h strips 5, of felt orthe like,

noise when they. close.

The shutters 3 are provided with means f one another", and which w l hereinaft for opening and closing them independently GOEWEY,

Specification of Letters Patent. ,1Pgte ted S t 21 1920 Application filed hfovembel 23, 1816. I

preferably, for reasons er appear,the shutters vare closed by means of a corresponding number of independently-controlled pneumatic motors, one for each shutter, and, each shutter is subjected to a ing to open it, so the cally umess :restra1n will stay. 1w

i the correspondin struction illustrated force constantly tend t 1t. will open automatied from doing so and l pen exceptwhen purposely closed g motor. In the conthe open ng movement of each shutter is efiectedbyaweight (i591 cured to the shutter above pivots and onthe outer its supporting the shutters being arranged to open outward V at theirupper edges ing notoi'. consists of inovableouter wall 0 and each sh1 1tter-clcsafixe'd block 7 secured frame 2 and carrying a bellows 8, the

f which is connected by i, so that when side of the shutter,

air under pressure is admitted jtoi the, in-

terior of, the bellows of the latter closes t closed until the air kn issupplied to comprising ducts 10 the resulting expansion liegshutter and holds it. within the bellows is theinterior of the I H lows 8 send permitted ito escapetherefrom passages formed in the block 7 and and 11 connected by an intermediate chamber 12 from which an exhaust perforation 13 leads to the outer air, the outer end of the duct 10 being connected to any suitable reservoir containing air under pressure, lows (not shown). tains two valves 14 such as the organ bel- The chamber 12 conand 15 which are cary it closed until ried by a stem 16 and are a little smaller in diameter than the chamber 12, so that air can ass around them when open. These valves 14 and 15 control the duct 10 and the exhaust perforation 13 respectively, and are so located with respect to each other on the stem 16 that when either'valve is open the other valve is closed. Both positions of the combined valves are illustrated in Fig. 1, in which the valves corresponding to the bottom shutter 3 are shown in their lowermost position, with the duct 10 closed and the perforation 13 open. When the valves are moved into this'position theair pressure within the bellows 8 is relieved through the perforation 13 and the corresponding shut-. ter is opened by the weightfi attached thereto. l vhen the combined valves are raised to their uppermost position, shown in connection'with the shutter next above, the perforation 13 is closed and air under pressure enters the bellows 8 through the ducts 10 and 11, thereby closing the shutter and holding the valves are moved downward. p

From the foregoing description it will 1 be evident that by providing for theinde pendent operation of the several valve stems 16, any shutter may be caused to open or closeindependentlyof any other shutter and regardless ofthe position of the other shutters. It is this capacity for individual movement which makes it desirable to arrange the shutters horizontally, since in such lcasethe swell effect produced by the opening of any shutter is distributed uniformly across the full width of the swell box and affects to an equal extent the loudness of all the. pipes in the box, whereas if the shutters were arranged vertically and a single shutter only were opened the pipes next to that shutter would sound louder than the others. For operating the valves above described I prefer to employ a series of electr'o-magnets 1 7, each having its armature 18 connected to the upper end of one of the valve stems 16 and so arranged that when the magnet is energized the corresponding valves '14 and 15 are moved downward into their lowermost position, thereby causing the corresponding shutter to be opened. Any suitable type of magnet may be employed so faras the present invention is concerned, the magnet illustrated being constructed substantially asset forth inU/S. Letters Patent No. 1,165,904, granted December 28,

1915, to the Telelectric Companygon an application filedby myself. in a magnet of this type the armature is pivotally mounted end is provided with a spring constantly tending to swing it outward and upward with refe'rence to the position shown in'Fig. 1, sothat'when either of the magnets 17 is deenergized the spring just referred to causes its armature to lift the valve stem 16 to which it is connected and thus brings about the closing of the corresponding shutter in the manner already described. 7 V

The number and size of the individual shutters 3 may evidently be varied according to the space available'for their reception" circuits of said magnets in such manner that an increasing swell effect is produced by opening the shutters in order, commencing with the bottom shutter, for the reason that the relativelyslight and I have found that the lowermost shutter has the least appreciable effect on the sound. An arrangement under the control of the organist for causing the shutters to open successively in the manner above referred to is illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 4, in which the motors 8 and the magnets 17 are arranged in the same order as in Fig. 1, the shutters themselves being omitted; V

In Fig. 4, 19 indicates a pivotally-mounted first increase in loudness should be lever adapted to be-operated by the foot sponding magnet, from which the current 1 passes througn a clrcuit wire 28 to a common,

return wire 29 connected tothe other pole 30 of the generator 24. The brushes 25 are so arranged that when the lever 19 is in one of its extreme positions, shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4, the blade 20 is out of contact with all .of the brushes, so that the circuits through all the magnets l7fare open and all;

the shutters 3 are therefore closed, but when the upper endof the lever 19 is depressed the blade 20 makes contact first with that one of thebrushes 25 which corresponds to the lowermost magnet 17, thus causing the lowermost shutter to be opened, the re- ,mainingshutters being caused to opensuccessively by a continued downward movement of said blade 20 until the latter'is in contact with all the brushes, as shown in full lines in Fig. 4, and all the shutters 3 are open. Hence the number of shutters which that in which they are opened. The rate'of increase of the swell effect, resulting from the opening of more than one shutter will evidently depend upon the rate of movement 7 are open at any given time will depend'upon T the position of the lever 19, the order in which they are closed being the opposite of of two bellows of the lever 19, which will be governed by the judgment of the organist, while the swell effect resulting from the opening. of any one be caused to' increase at any way that the brushes 25 and blade 20 are arranged, so that when the blade 31 moves toward said brushes 33 it makes-contact with the latter successively, commencing withgthe brush which is connected tothe lowermost magnet 17. For moving the bladef31 into and out of contact with the brushes 33 I employ a pneumatic motor, shown as consisting and 36' carried by fixed blocks 37 and 38 and havingfltheirmovable walls'connected at link 39 and soarrranged that when either bellows expands the other' cpntracts.

blade 31 is carried by thc movable .wall of the bellows 35 and is out of contact withv any of the brushes 33 when 'thebellows 36 is fully expanded but is in contact with allot said brushes when the bellows 35jis' fully ex-- panded. The bellows 35" is I caused to-ex--- pand by admitting air under pressuretoits interior through a duct 40 formed tin-the 34 and block 37 andcommuni-- a passage 41 which'leads at one= end to the outer air and at itsother endto; 42, to which the air underzpres-j sure is admitted through a pipe 43 connected-- to the organ bellows or other source. of suppassage 41 is ontrolled bytwo base board eating with a chamber ply. The

valves 44 and 45 carried by a stem.46 andso arranged that when within the bellows 35 to escape, while when said valves are in their uppermost position the passage 41 is closed at its lower end-and open at its upper end, so that communication between the chamber 42 and the duct 40 is established and the air pressure is ad mitted to the bellows. In like manner air under pressure is admitted to the interior of the bellows 36 and permitted to escape therefrom through a duct 47, a passage 48 controlled by valves 49 and 50 carried by a valve stem 51, and a chamber 52 connected to the pipe 43. The valve stems 46 and 51 are raised and lowered by electro-magnets and relation to one another and to the blade 31' in the same ployed or is their upper ends b The i -;.is energized.

tamed ifboth magnets are energized with I the blade 31 may these valves. are moved into their lowermost position said passage is closed at its upperor inner endby the valve 44 and is opened at itsfouter end by the valve 45, thus permitting the air 53 and- 54, which are shownas having the same construction as themagnets 1'7 but inverted 1n 56, which are connected to the upper ends oftl'iefstems 46 and5l respectively,

raise said stems when the magnets are energizedand lower them when the magnets are deenergized. a H V Thevalves 44and 45 are shown in their lowered position, the magnet'53' being deenergized, and the J in .their elevated position, where they are valves 49 and 50 are shown held by the energized magnet 54, so that the position, so that their armatures bellows 36 is expanded and t-he.blade 31 is held out of=contact with all the brushes 33.

Allthe shutters 3 will therefore be closed,

assuming that the foot lever 19 is not emnet 54 is deenergized the blade 31 ;will evidently bemov ed toward thebrushes 33 by the expansion or" the bellows 35, thereby causing the shutters 3 to open in order as in its inoperative position. If now the magnet 53 1S energized and the magfast assaid blade reaches the corresponding brushes, but this movement of the blade may be arrested as-soon as any desired number 01" the shutters have been opened by deenergizing the magnet '53 Without energizing neither bellows will any force tending to the magnet 54, since thembe subjected to expand it and the blade will therefore remain at rest nntil'one magnet or the other The same result will be obthe: bla'de'31 in a given position, since'in' such case a balanced air pressure will be established'within both, bellows and the blade 'Wlll remain motionless until one magnet or the other ismdeenergized, In like manner be caused contact withia partor all of the brushes 33,

so that number of the shutters 3- may be 'caused'to open or close at any time by suit- "ably,controllingthe energizing circuits of themagne'ts 53 and Therate'ofmovement of the blade 31 may be conveniently screws 57 and 5Senregulated by means of tering the ductsj40 and 47 respectively, by

'the'adjii'stment ofwhich screws the flow of air through said 7 ducts may be obstructed sufii'ciently to retard the movement of'the -'corresponding bellows to any desired extent.

' The automatic arrangement just'descri bed to move out of is particularly adapted and intended for use inconnection with an automatic playing apparatus controlled by a perforated music sheet, since it enables the shutters to be completely controlled by providing the music sheet with two lines of special slots. Such a playing apparatus is diagrammatically represented in part by the contact bar 59 connected by a circuit wire 60 to the pole 23 and cooperating with two contact fingers 61 and 62, of which the finger 61 is connect- V out of contact with all the brushes 33, which 7 cuit will ordinarily open shutters may ed by a circuit wire 63 to the magnet 53, and the finger 62 is. connected by a circuit wire 64: tothe magnet 54, the circuits through the respective magnets being completed by means of wires 65 and 66 leading therefrom to thecommon return wire 29. Assuming that the fingers Y61 and 62 are controlled by the music sheet (not shown) in suchmanner that whenever a slot in the sheet passes beneath either finger the latter makes contact with thejbar 59 during an interval proportionate to the length of the slot, it will be evident that any desired number of closed shutters 3 may be opened by causing a slot of appropriate length to pass beneath the finger 6 1 and that any desired number of be closed by causing a slotof appropriate length to pass beneath thefinger 62, these slots bein proportioned in accordance with the rate Q movement of the music sheet'and of the blade 31.

The shutter-controlling mechanism shown in Fig. 4 has. the advantage that both the foot-operated lever and the} automatic mechanism may be associated in the same apparatus and used independently oi: each other, although either arrangement may obviously be employed to the exclusion of the otherit desired. hen the automatic mechanism is operating .the foot lever will ordinarily be thrown out of action by moving it into its dotted-line position, but theorganistcan at any time increase the swell effect by means of the foot lever, since the magnets 17 can be energized through either of the two sets of brushes .ZS and 33. lVhen it'isdesired to control the shutters by means of the foot lever only, the blade 81 is moved may be done by closing a normally-open branch circuit through the magnet 54, in

parallel with the circuit through the finger 2. Sucha branch circuit is represented by the c1rcu1t wire 67 connecting the wire 64:

with the pole 23 and including a normallyopen switch 68, which is shown as a manual practice this branch cirbe' closed automatically be described.

switch, although in by means not necessary to It will be observed that whenever the air is shut oil from the organ all the shutters 3 will .open automatically, whether the magnets'l'? or any of them are energized or not, andthis is an important advantage of the shutter-operating mechanism illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 because it insures a free circulationlo'f air through theswell box when the organ is not in use.

said blade and brushes,

means compr slng' trolling its operation,

in a predetermined order,

in' combination with a set, of brushes electrically connected respectively to the several magnets, a blade movable into and; out of contact with said brushes successively, magnet-energizing circuits including said blade and brushes, blade-operating means comprising two pneumatic motors acting in opposition to each other,-and means for independently controlling, said motors. V 2; A swell box for pipe organs comprising a series; of shutters each provided with means including an electro-magnet for operating it independently of any other shutter, in combination with a set of brushes electrically connected respectively to the several magnets, a blade movable into and out otcontact with said brushes successively, magnet-energizing circuits including blade-operating two pneumatic motors acting inopposition to each other and each provided, with an electro-magnet for conand means for energizing and deenergizing said magnets index pendently of each other.

3. A swellbox tor-pipe organs comprising a series of shutters each provided with means including an electro-magnet for'operating it independently of any other shutter,

' in combination with magnet-energizing circuits each correspondingto one of the magnets and including two branches, means adapted to controlling one set of branch circuits, and

means for automatically controlling the other set ofbranch circuits. I

4-. A swell box for plpe organs compnsmg a serles of shutters extendinghonzontally one above another and each provided with 'means including an el'ectro-magnet for operating it independently of any other shutter, in combination with lmagnet-energizing circuits each corresponding to one of themagnets and'including two branches, means adapted to be operated by the organist for controlling one set of branch circuits and means for' be operated by the organist for automatically controlling the other. set or branch circuits in the same order.

Signed at Pittsfield, Mass, this 17th day 

